Powerful new mass spectrometers at Brown

Among the few advanced mass spectrometers in the country

The precision of advanced mass spectrometry can determine the origin and ages of all kinds of materials from meteorites to archeological artifacts to environmental samples — a useful tool for chemists, environmental scientists, archaeologists, planetary geologists, engineers, and forensic scientists. Credit: Mike Cohea/Brown University

Two plasma mass spectrometers, acquired with funding from Brown University and the National Science Foundation, are providing researchers in the region — at Brown, and other universities, government agencies, and companies — with access to some of the most precise research equipment in the nation.